Piston ring



June 8,

PISTON RING Filed 25. 1934 5 a. NORTON mmvm.

ATTORNEY.

Patented June 8, 1937 UNITED v STATES PA ENT orrlca Ernest gi t i rznfi ine, Ill. 321 $5311.? mm

The present invention relates to piston rings ofthe plural-piece type which are held outwardly in contact with the cylinder-wall by resilient means which engages the ring sections in a plurality of points and also engages the. piston whereby to cause as nearly an even pressure as possible upon the entire outer cylinder contacting face of the ring. Among the objects of this invention are: to provide a ring of the character indicated which will be easily assembled and held in the struction disclosed herein. My invention further resides in the combination, construction and arrangement of parts illustrated in the accompanying drawing and, while I have shown therein what is now considered the preferred embodiment of this invention, I desire the same to be understood as illustrative only and not to be interpreted in a limiting sense.

In the drawing annexed hereto'and forming a part hereof,

Fig. 1 is a plan view showing a ring constructed in accordance with my present invention, the two sections of the ring being slightly spaced and the ring being shown on an enlarged scale;

Fig. 2 is an inside elevational view of one of the ring sections;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary central sectional view through the structure shown in Fig. 2, taken in a vertical direction;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional view through thecentral part of the structure shown in Fig. 2.

Reference will now be madein greater detail to the annexed drawing wherein one embodiment of my present invention is illustrated. The

ring sections are denoted by the numeral i and the springs which give the necessary tension by exterior cylindrical face of the ring.

tion spaced a proper distance.

A groove 6 of substantially uniform depth is located in the inner face ofthe ring and is shown as extending diagonally thereof, although this is not, in all cases, essential. The internal and external grooves are connected at intervals by the slots 1 which are cut in from the exterior face of the ring and form openings through which oil may pass from the exterior to the interior face of the ring. These slots are formed in oil rings but are omitted in compression rings.

Substantially midway of its length, the spring 2 has a flattened portion 8, the forming of which causes the spring to be expanded laterally so that it will have atight fit in the groove 6, when pressed therein. This results in the spring 2 being held in place in the groove 6 so that the ring sections are easily assembled in the ring grooves ofthe piston. Between the slots 1 are bridges 9 which hold the two portions of each ring see- As indicated at I0, each end of each spring section is curved inwardly so'that there shall be no sharp points of the spring engaging the ring and preventing of the diagonal arrangement of the groove Band spring 2, there is greater space andfreedom of motion for 'oil through the slots 1 than if the spring groove were placed centrally throughout the length of the inner wall of the ring. The bent central portion of the spring 2 bears against the bridge 5, while its bent ends I0 bear against the end portions of the ring section. The outward pressure of the piston on the spring 2 is radial of the piston and substantially midway of the parts ofthe spring, that is, in a radial direction through the bridges 9. Therefore, the pressure of the spring against the ring sections is such as to keep a substantially uniform unit area pressure between the inner face of the cylinder and the exterior face of the ring. Consequently, there is substantially uniform Wear of the ring, as has been shown by extensive use of these rings in automobiles subjected to extreme conditions of use.

It is of course understood that the specific description of structure set forth above may be departed from without departing from the spirit of my invention as set forth inthis specification and the appended claims.

Having now decribed my invention, I claim;

1. In a plural-piece piston ring, a ring segment having internal and external grooves and slots cut through the body 01' the ring and connecting the internal and external grooves and leaving narrow bridges connecting the portions of the ring body at the two sides of the slots, a bridge substantially centrally of the ring segment serving as an abutment for a spring, and a spring having its ends and its central portion in the internal groove of the ring, the central portion of the spring pressing against the central bridge.

ternal groove in any ring segment are adjacent l0 opposite lateral faces of the ring segment.

ERNEST C. NORTON. 

